2012 Dan David Prizes Awarded; Three $1 Million Awards Presented

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Jun 12, 2012, 02:34 ET

TEL AVIV, Israel, June 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

The Dan David Prize award ceremony took place yesterday at Tel Aviv University, in the presence of Prof. Joseph Klafter, President of Tel Aviv University and Chairman of the Dan David Prize Board, Prof. Ruth Arnon, President of the Israel Academy of Sciences, members of the David family,
the 2012 Dan David Prize laureates, foreign ambassadors, and prominent academic and business figures from Israel and abroad.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:

http://www.multivu.com/mnr/56538-dandavidprize

Awards were presented in the fields of:

History/Biography to
Dr. Robert Conquest (USA) for exposing the realities of Stalinist rule in the 1930s.

Sir Martin Gilbert (United Kingdom) for his remarkable, multi-volume biography of Sir Winston Churchill.

Plastic Arts to

Mr. William Kentridge (South Africa) for his renowned, socially conscious, and extremely diversified works of art.

Genome Research to
Prof. David Botstein (Princeton University, USA) for his pioneering research in modern human genetics.
Prof. Eric Lander (Broad Institute Harvard and MIT, USA) for his seminal work in the genetic mapping of humans and animals.
Dr. J. Craig Venter (J. Craig Venter Institute, USA) for his contributions to metagenomics and for creating a functional bacterial genome from synthetic building blocks.

The Dan David Prize has been awarded since the year 2002 to individuals or institutions with proven, exceptional excellence in the sciences, arts, and humanities within each of the three time dimensions: past, present, and future. ($1Million is awarded in each time dimension).
The ceremony included artistic performances by the Harel Kay Ka-Ya Group, the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music Percussion Ensemble, Tel Aviv University; and flutist Margarita Timoshin.

The laureates donate 10% of their prize money towards 20 scholarships for outstanding doctoral and
post- doctoral students from all over the world.

The Dan David Prize seeks to impact on the next generation of leaders and involves high school students through the "Name Your Hero" Essay Competition.

Various attendant events are taking place this week at Tel Aviv University within the framework of the Dan David Prize:

Scholarship/Name Your Hero Essay Competition Award Ceremony

'A Personal Account'
A Meeting with the Historian Dr. Robert Conquest

'A Natural History of the Studio'
A Meeting with the Artist William Kentridge

'The Human Genome and Future Biomedical Research'
A symposium with Prof. David Botstein, Prof. Eric Lander, and Dr. J. Craig Venter